Safety-buckle.



No. 740,932. PATENTBD 00T. 6, 190s.A A. 'lawaai-mml @L H. SGHUBTT.

SAFETY BUGKLE.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 18, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

w/TNESSES.- l

l atented October 6, 1903.

PATENT Orr-ICE.

ANTON ENGLERTH AND HENRY SCHUETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY-BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 740,932, dated October6, 1903.

Application filed March 18,1903. Serial No. 148,389. (No model.)

To all?. whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, ANTON ENGLERTH and HENRY SCHUETT, citizens of theUnited States, and residents of Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements inSafety-Buckles, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

Our invention relates to improvements iu buckles adapted for attachmentto a ridingsaddle for the purpose of connecting a stirrup-strap theretoin a Way to retain the strap on the saddle under normal conditions ofuse, but when the rider is thrown the pull of the strap in au abnormaldirection operates to open the buckle and automatically release thestirrup and strap.

The object that we Vhave in view is to provide a buckle of suchconstruction that its metallic parts may be stamped by suitable dies,which can be readily fastened to the saddle in such position as to beconcealed from View, and which is simple and strong in construction,cheap of manufacture, and reliable in service.

Further` objects and advantages of the invention will appear in thecourse of the sub; joined description, and the novelty will be del finedby the annexed claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification,v

in which similar characters of reference indi# cate corresponding partsin all the igures.

Figure l is a view in side elevation of an ordinary riding-saddle,illustrating the application of our improved safety-buckle for thestirrup-strap. Fig. 2 is the perspective view, on an enlarged scale, ofthe safety-buckle detached from the saddle and showing 5o safety-buckle.

The improved safety-buckle of our inven# tion consists, primarily, oftwo members, (indicated by the numerals 5 6in the drawings,) saidmembers being preferably in the form of platesand being hingedlyconnected. The member 5 serves as the base or fixed part of the bucklewhen applied to a ridingsaddle A, while the member 6 is adapted tooperate as a clasp in confining a loop B Within the buckle, said loopserving as the support for a strap C, adapted to carry an ordinaryriding-stirrup. (Not shown.) Y

The member 5 has one face thereof cut away or recessed in an inclineddirection, as indicated at 7, thereby producing a solid portion 8 and ashoulder 9 at the lower partof the member. The shoulder 9 is curvedtransversely, as indicated more clearly by Figs. 2 and 4, and theinclined face 7 is disposed to meet with an end portion of this curvedface of the shoulder. Y provided at its top edge with a transverse notchl0, and on opposite sides of this notch the plate is formed withintegral lugs 1l, the same arranged to extend beyond the front face ofthe plate and to afford the pivotal bearingsv for the hinged claspmember 6 of the buckle. This clasp member 6 is of such width at one endportion as to lit snugly between the lugsll at the top edge of themember 5, and through the lugs l1 and the upper end of the member 6passes a pin or arbor 12, the latter serving to pivotally connect themember 6 to the base member 5.

The members 5and 6 of the improved'buckle are fashioned or shapedcorrespondingly,

yand when said members are closed, as shown by Fig. 4:, the bucklepresents the appearance of a neat flat plate,which isdividedlongitudinally. The inner face of the hinged member 6 is inclined at 13and disposed in opposing relation to the inclined face 7 of the basemember, and this hinged member is adapted to have its low-er innerportion rest snugly on the thickened lower portion 8 of said basemember. The inclined faces 7 13 of the base and clasp members 5 6,respectively, form a space adapted to receive the upper crossbar of thestrap-loop B, said cross-bar fitting snugly in the curved shoulder 9 ofthe base member,as shown by Fig. 4. The weight and strain of the stirrupare sustained by the The plate or member 5 is IOO shoulder of thethickened lower portion of the base member 5 of the buckle,b'ecause thestrap 6 and the loop B transmit the strain directly to the shoulder.rihe hinged member 6 serves to confine the loop B securely within thebuckle, and said member is normally kept in its closed position by thepressure of a spring 14. The upper hinged edge of the member 6 isfashioned to form a cani having a projecting shoulder, (shown i moreclearly in Fig. 4 and indicated by the numeral 15,) said camshaped edgeof the member 6 projectinginto the recess 10 in thetop edge of the basemember 5. The spring 14 is in the form of a at or leaf spring, and it isattached firmly to the rear face of the member 5, as represented byFigs. 4 and 5. Said rear face of the member 5 is provided with alongitudinal cavity 16,adapted to receive the spriug,which is fastenedsecurely to the base member in a suitable way-as, for example, by therivet 17. The free portion of the spring 14 extends into the recess 10and bears against the ca`m edge 15 of the member, said spring serving tonormally hold the member 6 in' its closed position, as shown by Fig. 4.The spring 14 is disposed iiush with the rear side of the base member 5,thus compactly arranging the parts and minimizing the tendency of thespring to break.

In the operation of our invention the member 6 maybe raised by turningit on the pivot l2, thus causing the cam edge 15 to ride against thespring and to deiiect the latter sufficiently fortlie member 6 to assumethe open position, (shown by Fig. 2,) the end of the spring bearingagainst a [iat end edge of the hinged member to maintain it in itsadjusted position. The loop B may'now be easily fitted in therecessedface 7 of the base member, so that the cross-bar of the loopwill rest in the curved edge of the shoulder 9. 'The operator may nowpress the member 6 to its vclosed position, wherein it lies parallel tothe member 5, said member 6 being held securely in said closed positionby the pressure exerted on the cam edge 15 by the strong flat spring 14.The loop B serves to suspend the strap C and the stirrup from theimproved buckle, and, as before indicated, the weight and strain of thestirrup are brought to bear against a solid portion of the buckle. Thestrap and stirrup are held securely in the buckle under normal`conditions of service of the stirrup; but when strain is brought to bearon the buckle in an abnormal direction-as, for example, when the rideris thrown and his foot catches in the stirrup-theloop Bis adapted topull on the memberr with sufficient force to overcome the tension of thespring 14, whereby the buckle is opened to automatically release theloop B and free the strap from the saddle.

The plate 5 is shown as having a series of openings 18 adapted toreceive screws or rivets for fastening the buckle to the ridingsaddlesubstantially in the position indicated by Fig. 1; but it is evidentvthat the position of the buckle and the means for fasteningit to thesaddle may be modified within the skill of the operator.

The particular form of loop B and the slope of the shoulder 9 on themember 5 are not material. For example, the top bar of the loop B may bemade Wedge-shaped or tapering in cross-section, and this requires theshape of the shoulder 9 to be correspondingly changed.

It is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the form,proportion, and size of the several parts and that we reserve the rightto make such modifications and alterations as fall within the scope ofthe appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- A l. A safety-buckle for saddles, comprisingbase member secured to the saddle with its rear side in flat engagementtherewith, said member having a vertical recess in its rear sideextending downwardly from the top thereof, a fiat spring secured in saidrecess with its upper end free, means on the inner face of said basemember to be engaged by the loop of the stirrup-leather, and a claspmember normally covering the face of said base member and pivoted at itsupper end to the upper end ofthe base member and having a projectionabove said pivot pressed by said spring to resist the opening of theclasp member and to normally hold the same pressed into engagement withthe front face of the base member, the outer face of said spring beingiiush with the rear face of said base-piece whereby the pressure oftheleather of the saddle against the rear face of said springsupplements the resiliency of the spring when said clasp is operated.

2. A safety-buckle for saddles, comprising a flat base member secured tothe saddle, the rear side of said member being iiat and the lower endthereof thicker than the upper end, a transverse shoulder on the innerface of said member at the point of union between said thicker andthinner parts thereof, said thinner part being transversely recessed atsaid shoulder to increase the depth of the shoulder, a buckle or loopreceived upon said shoulder, the front face of said loop being iiushwith the front face of the lower thickened portion of the base member, aclasp carried upon said base member, and means for holding the claspnormally in engagement with said base member.

3. A safety-buckle for saddles comprising a flat base member with thelower end thereof thicker than the upper end, a transverse shoulder onthe inner face of said member at the point of union between said,thicker and thinner parts thereof, said thinner part being transverselyrecessed at said shoulder to increase the depth of the shoulder, therear wall of said recess forming an incline, said base roc IIO

member having lateral projections at iis upper end, a clasp memberpivoted to the upper portion of said base member and having aspring-pressed portion above said pivot to normally hold the claspmember pressed against the front face of the base member, the upperportion of said clasp member being as much thicker than the lowerportion thereof, as the lower portion of the base member is thicker thanits upper portion,wherebytheinner faces of the base and clasp membersmeet in flat engagement with each other and the outer faces of these twomembers are parallel, an incline on the inner face of said clasp unitingthe thicker and the thinner portions thereof, said 'incline beingsimilar to and opposite the incline formed by the side of the transverserecess of the base member, the top sides or edges of the two inclinesbeing coincident, and a buckle or loop received upon said shoulder nearthe lower end of said base member, the front face of said loop beingHush with the inner face of the thin portion at the lower end of theclasp, and the sides of said loop extending' outwardly about equidistantwith the lat eral projections at the upper end of thebase member.

4. A safety-buckle for riding-saddies comprising a base member securedto the saddle, the rear side of said member being in fiat engagementwith the saddle and provided with a vertical recess extending downwardlyfrom the top of said base member, a fiat spring secured in said recesswithits upper end free, the outer face of said spring being fiush withthe rear face of said base-piece, a transverse upwardly-.facing shoulderon the outer face of said base member, near the lower end thereof, saidshoulder being formed in part by makof said loop being flush with thefront face of l the lower thickened portion of the base member, a claspmember pivoted to the upper portion of said base member and having aportion above said pivot pressed by said spring to normally hold the.clasp member pressed against the front face of the base member, theupper portion of said clasp member being as much thicker than the lowerportion thereof as the lower portion of the base member is thicker thanits upper portion, whereby the inner faces of the base and clasp membersmeet in flat engagement with each other, and the outer faces of thesetwo members are parallel, and an incline on the inner face of said claspuniting the thicker and the thinner portions thereof, said incline beingsimilar to and opposite the incline formed by the side of the transverserecess of the basemember, the top sides or edges of the two inclinesbeing coincident.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ANTON ENGLERTH. HENRY SOHUETT.

Witnesses:

FLORA V. SPENCER, CHRIS JoHANsoN.

